A Burden Carried By Me, Shared By Many
by stelyaria
Summary: Staring at an empty road from the view of his study's window was something Miles Edgeworth did not plan on doing during his spare time. With a cup of freshly brewed tea and an expensive saucer in his hands, he stood quietly as the street lights illuminated the dark asphalt.


Even though being drowned in rough sea; dancing in the hellfire  
Helplessly falling on my knees in merciless drought  
Being trapped in the darkness forever and losing my mind; being swallowed by the earth  
We won't let you go by yourself

Even though being struck by the lightning judgment; being torn up by the hurricane  
Being frozen to the bones; crawling through the fire  
We won't stop believing… In sickness and in health…  
"We share joy and pain"

Hitoshizuku x yama; Blessed Messiah and the Tower of AI (translation by sometimes subs)

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Staring at an empty road from the view of his study's window was something Miles Edgeworth did not plan on doing during his spare time. With a cup of freshly brewed tea and an expensive saucer in his hands, he stood quietly as the street lights illuminated the dark asphalt.

Unproductive seemed like an inappropriate word to be using, considering the ungodly hour it had been. What was he expected to be doing aside from lying in bed asleep? His repeated nightmares would come to haunt him once again. Awaking his partner hardly sounded appealing in his point of view, leading to his current state of solitude.

Miles took another sip of his tea, wincing at the undesired temperature slightly burning his tongue. He walked over to his desk and placed the delicate china beside some case files he borrowed from Phoenix. The clock made a loud ringing noise as another hour had passed, the majestic charms of three in the morning weighing on him.

A short glance at the conspicuous portfolio atop the rest of his legal documents brought Miles dread. Three very familiar symbols were imprinted on the cover, standing out like a stain on a pristine white uniform: _DL-6._ It was one of the few things in the world that could trouble him so much, the darkest aspect of his past, the one event that changed everything in a blink of an eye.

As much as he hates talking about how he came to lose his beloved father, he just can't stop thinking about it, especially on the twenty-eighth of December. Miles can't gather up the courage to tell Phoenix about his lingering fear of the said date. Would he be letting all the effort that man put into clearing his name go to waste? The burn marks from zaps he took were still there after all.

He sat down and hesitantly opened the file. Grey eyes scanned the report, avoiding any deep insight on the words written on it. For him, it seemed like an easy task, and yet the same could not be said once he reached the part with the crime scene's picture.

Despite it being developed in black and white ink, it was still impactful in its own ways. The way his father was slumped over in a corner with a good amount of blood gushing over his chest looked too painful to be real. Miles opted to observe elsewhere, the second bullet hole for example. He felt a smile climbing his face as he remembers how Phoenix managed to prove his innocence using that tiny, case-breaking contradiction.

'I guess it's not all horrifying elevator memories. Oh, Phoenix. The things you do to me,' he thought dreamily, smiling at the thought of his partner. 'Losing my father is one thing, having many to share this burden with is another. A better one at that.'

Maya's words in the detention centre while he was still suspected of murdering Robert Hammond resounded in his head. He felt foolish acting like he was the only one affected by that tragedy all those years ago. Misty Fey was frowned upon, her children grew up without her, Yanni Yogi was thought to be a madman, Marvin Grossberg was blackmailed for years, and Polly Jenkins was distraught to the point of taking her own life. Even Manfred von Karma himself could have been considered a victim.

Miles sighed and closed the file, having enough for one night. He may have successfully listed down how other people suffered directly because of the case, but he has yet to remember the things Phoenix went through even though having not a single connection with the murder.

A wider smile etched Miles' face as he sank into his thoughts. That man built his life around the objective of seeing a man he only knew for a few months in grade school. He threw all the plans he had for his future as soon as he saw an article in the newspapers about a 'demon prosecutor'. Due to the blackmailer, his mentor was slaughtered, forcing him to learn the essences of lawyering all by himself. Not forgetting to mention getting zapped by a six thousand volt stun gun for a single piece of decisive evidence.

Many more things happened to that poor man, but he felt no need to enumerate all of them one by one.

The prosecutor stood up carefully and walked towards the door, turning the lights off as soon as the switch was within his arm span. His previous thoughts of dread disappeared, got replaced by the happy remembrances brought about by his beloved husband.

He walked back to their shared bedroom, making sure to make the smallest amount of noise in his actions. Quietly, he climbed onto their bed, wrapping his arms around Phoenix's body. The thought of sleep welcomed him thoroughly, warding off any nightmares that would dare approach him that night.

"I love you so much, Phoenix," Miles cooed gently, pressing a kiss on top of his spiky head. "Thank you for everything."

Much to his surprise, he felt his embrace being returned, an immense amount of affection poured into such a simple action. Despite the closed eyes systematic breaths, the defence attorney beside him was wide awake, up to the point of preparing a speech silently in his mind.

"I love you too," he whispered sleepily. "I have no idea where you went. You owe me an explanation later."

Miles chuckled, masking his surprise easily. "Let's just go to sleep."

* * *

 **This fic was made in remembrance of the DL-6 Incident. I'd say it takes place either post Dual Destinies or post Spirit of Justice, any of those work.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Ace Attorney or any of its characters and cases. They belong to Capcom and other geniuses.**


End file.
